


A Couple Thousand Fireflies

by Vampiric_Charms



Category: Old Kingdom - Garth Nix
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-03
Updated: 2014-05-03
Packaged: 2018-01-21 18:30:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1559942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vampiric_Charms/pseuds/Vampiric_Charms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sabriel and Touchstone chat about some rather large events.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Couple Thousand Fireflies

Sabriel stood high up on one of the sentry walks of the palace, staring down into the bustling courtyard far below. No one saw her, or knew she was there. This was one of the few places she had discovered where she could come to be alone. The guards had yet to make this walk part of their rounds, as much on the other side of the courtyard was still under construction.   
  
A faint smile touched her lips as she leaned forward to rest her arms against the high wall. People were scurrying about down there, raising banners and ribbons, and setting up hundreds of tables. Thousands of flowers were being strung up everywhere, and their perfume scented the balmy evening air. They were dotted with small diamond-like Charter lights that made everything sparkle in the setting sun. It would be a marvelous sight, when the setup was finished. But she also knew that she would probably not notice any of it at all come tomorrow.  
  
"What are you thinking about?"  
  
Sabriel jumped as Touchstone came up beside her, draping a light cloak over her shoulders to keep off the slight chill on the breeze. "Oh, Touchstone!" She beamed as he hooked an arm around her hips to pull her close against him. "I didn't hear you coming."  
  
"So I noticed," he said softly, looking down to see what she had been staring at. "Are you thinking about tomorrow?"  
  
She nodded and leaned her head onto his shoulder with a contented sigh. "Our wedding. I just...can't believe it's actually going to happen."  
  
"It certainly is turning into a rather large affair, isn't it?" Touchstone chuckled and turned his face to press into her soft hair, taking a deep breath to smell the sweet soap she had bathed with that morning. "Are you nervous?"   
  
Sabriel sighed as she thought about his question and wrapped both of her arms about his waist from the side. "Nervous about spending the rest of my life with you? Not in the slightest. Nervous about the actual event and everything that will happen after? Yes, very much so." Her gaze fell back to the courtyard, where the volunteers were just starting to call it a night. "Marrying you means that I am going to be a Queen. I don't know if I can handle that kind of responsibility. Wyverley didn't exactly prepare me for becoming royalty."  
  
Touchstone nodded and kissed the top of her head. "I understand what you mean. Growing up, Rogir was supposed to be King; I did not learn a thing about being on the throne, because no one ever thought I would be. But," he added, his voice heavy with adoration, "do you remember what you said to me just before my coronation?"  
  
"That you would be fine." She smiled and closed her eyes, so happy to be standing there with him that her throat began to swell. "And that the people love you, and were pleased to have you lead them - even with such little experience."  
  
"The same is true for you, Sabriel," he told her kindly. "You of all people have no reason to be nervous of a title."  
  
A comfortable silence fell, and they both stood there basking in one another's company. But then a soft string of music was heard, drifting clearly across the courtyard. Touchstone pulled back from her just a bit. "The musicians are practicing for tomorrow," he mused quietly, staring across the way for a moment before turning his eyes to Sabriel. "Would you care to dance?"  
  
She grinned widely. "I would love to."  
  
Touchstone returned her smile and took her hand in his, gently pulling her against his chest as he wrapped his arm other around her waist. Her free hand wound around his neck and she leaned against him, her eyes sliding closed again. She had never felt so warm and safe, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was making the right choice in marrying him.  
  
"I love you," she whispered. "Just in case you didn't know."  
  
"And I love you." He brought his hand - still grasping hers - to her chin to tilt it upward for a brushing kiss to her lips. "I'm nervous, too," he admitted as she rested her head back against his shoulder when they began to sway to the music. "About the ceremony."  
  
"There are going to be so many people there," Sabriel muttered, her heart fluttering at the thought of hundreds of onlookers watching them.  
  
"And the time it will take! So much kneeling and standing and kneeling and blessings and standing." He shook his head. "But when it's done...we will be married."  
  
"Married," she repeated softly.  
  
Touchstone smirked playfully, though she couldn't see it. "I am looking forward to finally sharing my bed with you."  
  
Sabriel leaned back a bit and swatted at him as a faint blush colored her cheeks. She had been thinking about that very thing earlier, before he had joined her on the sentry walk, but she couldn't find the courage to tell him. Mostly because the thoughts she'd been having were colored with various shades of fear. She had never been with a man before, and some of the stories the older students at Wyverley had told...well, she had no idea what was true or false, and so had no idea what to expect. She trusted Touchstone with every fiber of her being, but she couldn't help the butterflies that sprang up in her stomach at the thought of -  
  
"What's the matter?" He had noticed her silence, and she pursed her lips as he gazed at her, worried. "Are you having second thoughts?"  
  
"No!" Sabriel shook her head, surprised. "Touchstone, no. Never." She fell back against him, buying herself time as she tried to figure out what to say. "I've just... I've never... Never, well..." Her voice faded, unable to find the words, and she lowered her eyes.  
  
"Oh!" Touchstone exclaimed, quickly figuring out what she was trying to tell him. He just laughed, rather amused, and hugged her more tightly against him with the arm around her waist. "Oh, Sabriel. Don't fret about that."  
  
"I just don't know what..." She swallowed, her blush deepening in embarrassment even as she felt relieved at his understanding. But then she just closed her eyes again and hid her face against his neck. They continued to dance.  
  
"When the time comes, it won't matter at all. I promise."  
  
Taking faith in his words, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "All that aside...I am looking forward to sharing your bed, too. In fact," she mused for his benefit, "I believe most of my possessions have already been moved to your room. _Our_ room."  
  
Touchstone stopped their movement and gently released her hand and waist so that he could cup her cheeks, bringing her gaze back to his. She stared at him, the flush returning for a different reason as she felt his body press firmly against hers. “I will love you forever,” he told her, his voice low and smooth as velvet. “I have never been so sure of anything else in my life. I need you to know that.”  
  
Sabriel smiled softy, so overcome by emotion that she almost couldn’t find the words to speak. “I do know that,” she finally said.  
  
He was silent for a moment before he continued. "Our vows tomorrow...they will be nothing but rehearsed lines, like actors in the play we are putting on for our viewers. I wanted to tell you this now, so you will know that it's true."  
  
She nodded, hearing his words but not knowing how to respond. Everything was so overwhelming - the wedding, the coronation that would happen next week, officially claiming the Royal Palace as her home as she took her place at the King's side as Queen rather than merely Abhorsen - all of these huge life-altering changes happening at once. It made her sick to her stomach, thinking about them all. But she also knew that, through everything, Touchstone would be there, ever-constant, and that was a comfort she would never lose sight of.  
  
And so she said, once again, "I love you."


End file.
